Perth Mint’s Year of the Rabbit Gold and Silver Coins

The Perth Mint will soon release the  2011 Australian Gold and Silver Lunar Coins featuring the Year of the Rabbit. The Lunar Coin Series II features the twelve animals of China’s ancient lunar calendar. The coins are struck in .999 silver or .9999 gold and available across a wide array of sizes.

People born within the date range February 3, 2011 to January 22, 2012 are said to be born within the Year of the Rabbit. Previous years include 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, and 1999.

The Australian Silver Lunar Coin Series II continues the Perth Mint’s tradition of producing precious metals coins with Chinese themes. The reverse design for this year’s release features two rabbits with the Chinese character for “rabbit.” The coins are minted across seven different bullion weights, which carry different legal tender face values. The largest 10 kilo coin and the most popular 1 oz coin each carry maximum mintages. The other options will be produced to demand, with production to close at the end of 2011.

Specifications for each of the seven Year of the Rabbit Silver Coins appear below. All coins will be available for worldwide release on September 14, 2010, except for the 10 kilo coin, which will be available November 1, 2010.

2011 Lunar Silver Bullion Series II – Year of the Rabbit

Size	Silver Content	Denomination	Weight	Diameter	Thickness	Max Mintage
10 kilo	321.510 oz	300 AUD	10,010 g	221 mm	33 mm	500
1 kilo	32.151 oz	30 AUD	1,001.002 g	100.6 mm	14.6 mm	N/A
10 oz	10 oz	10 AUD	311.347 g	85.6 mm	6.6 mm	N/A
5 oz	5 oz	8 AUD	155.673 g	65.6 mm	5.8 mm	N/A
2 oz	2 oz	2 AUD	62.270 g	55.6 mm	3.6 mm	N/A
1 oz	1 oz	1 AUD	31.135 g	45.6 mm	2.6 mm	300,000
1/2 oz	0.5 oz	0.50 AUD	15.591 g	36.6 mm	2.3 mm	N/A

The Australian Gold Lunar Coin Series II features a different representation of the rabbit. The Chinese character for “rabbit” appears above with an inscription “Year of the Rabbit” below. These .9999 pure gold coins are available across nine different bullion weights ranging from the largest 10 kilo size to the smallest 1/20 oz size.

The Year of the Rabbit Gold Coins will carry a maximum mintage of 100 of the 10 kilo coins and 30,000 of the one ounce coins. The remaining sizes will be minted to demand until the close of 2011. Coin are presented in protective acrylic capsules.

Below the specifications, legal tender face value, and maximum mintage for each coin is shown. Worldwide sales open on September 14, 2010, except for the 10 kilo coins, which will have sales begin on November 1, 2010.

2011 Lunar Gold Bullion Coin Series II – Year of the Rabbit

Size	Gold Content	Denomination	Weight	Diameter	Thickness	Max Mintage
10 kilo	321.507 oz	30,000 AUD	10,001 g	180.6 mm	25 mm	100
1 kilo	32.151 oz	3,000 AUD	1,000.1 g	100.6 mm	9 mm	N/A
10 oz	10 oz	1,000 AUD	311.067 g	75.6 mm	6 mm	N/A
2 oz	2 oz	200 AUD	62.215 g	41.1 mm	3.9 mm	N/A
1 oz	1 oz	100 AUD	31.112 g	39.34 mm	2.5 mm	30,000
1/2 oz	0.5 oz	50 AUD	15.554 g	30.6 mm	2.5 mm	N/A
1/4 oz	0.25 oz	25 AUD	7.777 g	22.6 mm	2.2 mm	N/A
1/10 oz	0.1 oz	15 AUD	3.111 g	18.6 mm	2 mm	N/A
1/20 oz	0.05 oz	5 AUD	1.556 g	14.6 mm	1.4 mm	N/A